Week Four Reflection

Social bookmarking was something new for me. When I created the delicious account, I was not quite sure how it was going to save me time at all. I then realized that it is an excellent tool because I can have everything that I need and want right there, in the same place, organized just how I want it. I often have had trouble with bookmarking on my own computer and then needing that information when I am working on another computer. Delicious made it so easy to be able to access the sites and information that I want wherever I am. This reason, to me, makes social bookmarking a great option for students. They will be working on several different computers (lab computers, home, library...) and will be able to obtain their previous work. The idea of sharing resources is great as well. It would be amazing to be able to share resources electronically in your department. It is nice because teachers can post new resources as they find them without having to worry about emailing links to several people, making copies of materials, or remembering to share in the next department meeting. It can be available at our fingertips, 24/7 and accessible from any computer. That seems like how I would use a delicious account the most (with my fellow teachers). I also see though how in a group project, students could use social bookmarking just as well. I would want each student to do his or her own work and research, but I think that because of how it is set up, teachers can monitor it pretty easily. My next thoughts about social bookmarking involve parents. I would love to set up a delicious account for parents to be able to access and use. I would bookmark things from the school's website such as the calendar, important announcements, staff directory, and other schedules. I would also bookmark the class website, the online system used for grading and attendance, other online class tools (maybe we would have a blog or a wiki), and resources for help with the most current topics of the class. It seems like a parent would love to be able to have access to these sites all in one place. If his or her student is struggling with a certain topic in class, a bookmark to each topic would be available on a delicious account to help the student. Sometimes a different explanation (and sometimes from someone else) is all it takes. Overall, my opinion about social bookmarking is that it is a positive, useful, and efficient tool for educators, students, and parents as well. 

In chapter one of our book, I read about how the field has been defined over the years. Before the chapter even began, in the Overview, the book states that "It is unlikely that there will ever be a generally agreed-upon answer to this question." (Referring to which definitions are best). I immediately agreed with that statement and went into reading the chapter with that mindset-no one will ever agree on it and I may even like some parts of some definitions and some of others. 

It was interesting to me how the name of the field has varied so much. "Audiovisual" seems so outdated and definitely not appropriate for what we do today in our field. I believe that "Educational Design and Technology" is appropriate for now based on the explanation from the book (that it includes both design procedures and the usage)...unless I read more that changes my mind! 

I did not realize how far back this field goes and that it started with simple educational films, slides, and even pictures, models, and exhibits. To me, flat pictures are not technology...but I'm sure they were in the early years of our field. As the technology improved, the definitions became more and more complex and involved. By more complex, I am not referring to the language used, I am referring to the devices, processes, and skill sets that the new technology allows. Some of the definitions (such as the first definition of 1970) are extremely limited in what is considered "technology" in the classroom. The 1994 definition, to me, is too broad and does not necessarily include any form of specific technology. That definition, "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning", is one that could be for the term "education" or "teaching" or I'm sure several others. So, after reading the entire chapter, I am convinced that my favorite definition is that from AECT that was created in 2006. "Educational Technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources". I really like this because it includes a little bit of everything-the educational piece, the processes, and the actual technology tools being used. It is not limited nor is it too broad. Can anything be too broad with the abilities that we have today? I don't know. The definition also mentions ethics, which I think and have previously expressed my opinions that technology cannot take over the learning processes. I see this definition being used for awhile in our field, but as things change, I'm sure it will too.

My Delicious

Here is the link to my delicious site and some of my favorite sites!  Enjoy! 


http://www.delicious.com/lyndseycarpenter

My WIKI

Here is the link to my wiki....learning more and more about them everyday, so it will continue to improve!

http://ljcarpenter.pbworks.com/

Week Three Reflection

Wikis….where to start?!  I really enjoyed reading about wikis because although I am very familiar with Wikipedia, I had never really put much thought into how it got to be Wikipedia.  It was interesting to me to see how a wiki can become so large, and so quickly at that.  I was not aware that it was possible to create my own wiki until this assignment.  I think of myself as someone who is pretty tech-savvy, and felt “out of the loop” with wikis.  The videos were really neat to me.  I would love to be able to create something like that in my own classroom for a different way to explain things.  (The way they broke it down so simply just by moving small pieces of paper around and using a dry erase board and putting it into a video at the same time-genius idea!)  I think students would really respond well to it, I did!  When I actually went to create my own wiki, I thought the initial set-up was quite simple.  What I am struggling with a bit is what to put onto my wiki in general (so maybe I am now lacking the creativity gene!).  It will take some playing around with to get ideas and to create something that I am happy with, but I will continue to mess with it. 

As far as using a wiki in my classroom, I have about a thousand ideas.  In general, when I learn about a new tool like this, my mind starts racing and I seem to come up with so much.  Some may be total failures, some may work out perfectly.  I’m not quite sure yet because I don’t have any experience with wikis.  One idea that I imagine working would be to use a wiki as a base for my culture projects.  Much like the camping idea on the video, each culture project usually begins with a list of what needs to be done and who is going to do it.  Culture projects in the target language could be completed with 4 students.  The students would create a wiki to organize their project.  The home page of the wiki would include important dates and general information about the project and quick notes to the other group members.  Each student could then link a page to the wiki and display what he or she has accomplished or found.  I think this would also be helpful to the teacher because I would be able to see what each student is contributing (or not).  Internet pages that are used for research could be directly linked to the wikis so that each student has access to the other group members’ research.  Using a wiki for this type of project may reduce the amount of classroom time that teachers need to allow for group meeting time (and this seems to be a lot of extra time because “we have practice” and “we can’t meet any time outside of school” and “we don’t have rides” …you know what I mean).  This may create more of an independent part of a group project, but I think it would be more efficient that just sitting in the classroom having group meetings or maybe going to the lab to “research”. 

Overall, I think wikis could be very useful in the classroom, work, or general life environments.  I am excited to learn more about how to use them and how to make them the most effective. 

Week Two Reflections

My early impression of using a blog is quite positive.  I like the idea of a blog very much because it allows the author to express him or herself through the use of technology.  It is a creative way to organize thoughts and ideas.  As the blogs for class continue to expand each week, I’m sure we will notice “personalities” developing through the text that we read.  I like this because it creates an image of this person in the reader’s mind and an idea of what makes the author tick.  I see the endless possibilities of a blog.  In class, we are using it very basically right now.  As I experiment with the different features and designs, I realize that one could dedicate hours to this type of project.  I can see where having to create a blog as a project could turn into a true work of art, depending on where the creator takes it.

The RSS feeds are useful as well and make keeping up extremely user-friendly.  I really enjoy the feeds because of the way they are formatted.  It is easy to read and always up to date.  I was not aware how many RSS feeds are available to subscribe to on the internet.  I guess I knew there were several, but as I was searching, I never imagined that many were out there.  The sheer number of followers for some of the most popular RSS feeds tell me that these are useful, efficient, and accepted tools for technology users. 

I believe that an RSS feed would be considered an “exhibit” in Dale’s Cone Theory.  He states that an exhibits are “working models arranged in meaningful display”.  This may not an exact match because the Cone theory speaks mainly of this exhibits being strictly visual items such as pictures or video, but I believe that the point of an RSS feed is to organize a lot of material in a brief, chronological method. 

I do not believe that a blog would be the base of the Cone, or at the “Direct, Purposeful Experience” level because the author of the blog is allowed so much creativity and imagination when composing.  Therefore, I would move blogs to the “Contrived Experience” level of the Cone.  The theory states that “a contrived experience is the editing of reality”.  Human nature will force author’s own opinions and ideas into the direct experiences they write about, making them easier to understand or more effective in getting his or her point across.  Ideas in the blogs may be simplified or complicated, depending on what the author would like to teach.  This idea is expressed similarly in the article. 

An imaginative educational use of a blog could be for pen-pals.  In a foreign language classroom, which is what I would be in, I could see a blog as an effective way to communicate with students from another country.  This would be more effective in a blog than in traditional methods of being pen-pals because it is easily accessible at any time of the day, any day of the week.  It would demonstrate culture because of the creativity that the author is allowed as well as several different sections in a target language for the reader.  There would be an ending goal, as stated in the article-for the communicators to display friendly messages and posts while practicing in the target language with someone from a foreign country.  Using a blog for means to communicate in the target language would eliminate the time for correspondence to be received, paper, and postage.   

An imaginative educational use of a RSS feeder would be to have an RSS feeder subscription to a foreign city’s newspaper-in the target language.  In a Spanish classroom, it is important to be aware of current events in some of the most important cities to the language.  To do this quickly and have the end result be receiving the news from a foreign city in the target language, a RSS feeder would be set up.  Students would be able to see the latest news at their fingertips daily.  This would eliminate the need for foreign newspapers, magazines, television programs, and even the need to search Google every day.  It would be set up right there for the students.

Week One: Readings Reflection

After reading Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation and Of Luddites, Learning, and Life, several thoughts crossed my mind. The first and most profound was the date that the articles were published. The dates are July/August of 2002 and 1993, which automatically makes my mind tick. If these articles are 8 and 17 years old and we are talking about technology, there is much more to be said. 17 years of technology being used in the classroom and of researchers studying the use of technology in education would show leaps and bounds and many different opinions. The general message of the articles may be similar, but the ideas for the future and how we are going about it are going to be drastically different.

For example, the articles speak of the Industrial Age vs. the Information Age. I agree completely that the goal is to transform students-to create more active learners instead of settling for the old traditions of passive learning. This will ultimately cause the student to have more responsibility for his or her own learning, which is something that many educators strive to achieve. This can happen through the use of technology, but the opposite effect is always a possibility. Relying solely on technology could transform students into something that educators do not want to see-students who are no longer able to take out a pencil and paper in order to work out a math problem. In a way, over usage of technology could result in a more “industrialized” classroom. The articles express different opinions of this, but I am able to clearly see both sides. The thought of technology being a distraction and downplaying the “social and moral” issues of education also stands out. While using this technology to improve the quality of education, there must be rules, regulations, and constant monitoring by the educator. A happy medium is the solution. Educators need to create an atmosphere that allows technology to be used one among several methods of learning and communicating. We cannot allow technology to overtake the student’s ability to communicate well.


Personal learning plans were spoken of in the first article as well. The second article more or less displays the attitude that there really is no problem being solved by the use of technology in the classroom. I believe that each educator has a personal learning plan laid out for each student in his or her minds, but these are not always shared or expressed with the student. Expectations of individual students must be vocalized and set in stone as tasks appear. Personal learning plans would allow each student to maximize his or her education experience based on his or her level of knowledge, skill, and drive. These plans would not only challenge the more gifted students, but would not leave the students needing extra assistance behind. The only issues that may arise from personal learning plans are the “idealistic” practice of standardized assessments in some school districts and the “social and moral” issues that the second article speaks of. Technology may allow students to go above and beyond and to challenge their minds, but when it comes down to these assessments and fair treatment of students, how should they be carried out? If we allow students to work on their own using technology, how will we have a common measures system and how will we expect students to not get accustomed to using it? The manpower and changes required to create these personal learning plans and inventory of attainments instead of report cards would be large-would it be worth it? In an ideal world, to me, yes it would. I just simply do not see the path that should be taken in order to get there.


In conclusion, the use of technology is going to improve and is currently improving the quality of education when it is used correctly. I see an enormous task for educators laid out-we need to be able to decide what types, how much, and how often technology should be appropriate in the classroom. To have the perfect balance would create a classroom environment where each student is learning to his or her full potential daily using a variety of learning methods and where no student is “left behind”. : )